Riddles
by wolfmyjic
Summary: Booth, Brennan, the Squint Squad and lots of Riddles. Need I say more? [New AN added 30 Jan 2007 to answer questions]


**A/N: Just a little something that was running around my head.**

**A/N 30 Jan 2007: The 'GRY' riddle is now explained on my forum 'Squint Squad'. You can find the link within my profile.**

**Title: Riddles**

**Summary: Booth, Brennan, the Squint Squad and lots of riddles.**

**Rating: K**

**Disclaimer: I don't own BONES. The plotline is mine thus, © WolfMyjic 2007**

**Thanks to Goldy for beta'ing this. You the Girl, girl.**

**Also, not responsible for any headaches gain by reading this fiction.**

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_Something to think about:_

_"Think of words ending in -GRY. Angry and hungry are two of them. There are only three words in the English language. What is the third word? The word is something that everyone uses every day. If you have listened carefully, I have already told you what it is."_

* * *

"Empty," Special Agent Seeley Booth said stepping onto the mezzanine where his partner, Doctor Temperance Brennan and her team sat. He then rubbed his hands together in muted excitement. "Come on, Bones we have a case." When he noticed that the squints were simply looking at him he quickly glanced down to make sure the zipper on his jeans was up before wiping a hand over his face. "What? I got something on me?" 

"Do you make it a habit to walk into a private conversation with random words?" Brennan asked, one slender eyebrow arching toward the ceiling.

"Not very private," Booth began, "if you all are sitting out in the open. And it's not a random word, it's the answer to the first grade riddle the boy doctor was asking." He looked around at the faces and then sighed. "Oh, come on, I know you haven't forgotten. What word in the English language can you take away the first, middle and last letters and the two letters left still sound like the word? Hello, empty. Lose the 'e', 'p' and 'y' and you still have 'm-t'." Booth looked over at Brennan again. "Now can we please get going?"

"Sure," she said standing from her chair. "Just let me grab my bag."

"Great, get moving," he told her and then followed her down the stairs.

"Booth," Angela called out, running to the railing. "What is so fragile that when you say its name you break it?"

"Silence," he answered, never turning back.

"That was an easy one, Ange," Hodgins said, coming to stand beside her.

"I know, but I couldn't think of a different one."

Brennan climbed into the SUV, closed the door and then strapped herself in. "Nice display of brain power back there," she told Booth as he got in and started the engine.

"Hey, don't underestimate the G-Man," tossed over with a smile. "If you think me knowing the answers were a pure stoke of luck, then ask me a few more riddles."

"I'm not saying your dumb or anything, Booth," Brennan defended. "Just that you don't look like a riddle type."

"There's a type?" he questioned. "Oh, you mean, squinty."

"Haha, very funny. Okay, then how about this one. A palindrome is a word that reads the same when spelled backwards…"

"Believe it or not," Booth interrupted. "I do know that."

"I'm just saying, Booth," Brennan said with a roll of her eyes. "How can the word _footstool _be considered a palindrome?" She watched as Booth reached up and scratched at his chin-- the wheels in his head obviously turning. They rode for a moment in silence before Booth returned his hand to the steering wheel.

"Morse Code," he said. "Write footstool in Morse Code and it's the same forward as well as backwards."

"I'm impressed," Brennan said to him. They fell into silence as Booth drove until Brennan asked, "What starts with 'e' ends with 'e' and contains only one letter?"

"You're joking, right?" he asked, looking over at her out the corner of his eyes. "That's a baby riddle. Like the one Zack asked."

"A riddle's a riddle. Unless you don't know the answer," she teased. Booth met her smirk as he pulled off the main road.

"An envelope," he answered as he pulled to a stop. "Make sure your next one is worth my time."

"There has to be something he doesn't know," Brennan said as she looked over the latest remains. Zack stood opposite her taking notes. Angela and Hodgins sat close by listening to Brennan explain how Booth had answered every riddle she could think of.

"Who knew he liked riddles," Hodgins said.

"Yeah, he doesn't seem like the type," Angela threw out.

"That's what I said," Brennan agreed.

"You said that to his face?" Hodgins questioned.

"Yes, why shouldn't I?"

"Because, Bren, he's a man."

"I'm well aware of that, Angela."

"He's got an ego," the artist tried again.

"Yeah," Hodgins picked up. "And you just slammed it." Brennan looked from Hodgins to Angela. She wasn't sure what they had just said, but she was getting the impression that she said something she shouldn't have to Booth.

"What Hodgins means is, that maybe you hurt his feeling. You know, by not thinking he's smart enough to answer the riddles."

"Of course he's smart enough," Brennan began, but was cut off by Booth swiping his card and bounding up the stairs.

"What we've got?" he asked.

"A riddle for ya," Hodgins answered.

"Not again with the riddles," Booth moaned.

"No, you'll like this one. If you were running a race, and you passed the person in second place, what place would you be in now?"

Booth rolled his eyes, but answered, "Second. Is that the best you've got?"

"What's as rare as a Friday in June?" Angela asked.

"A Sunday in October," Booth rattled off and then turned to Brennan. "Body." Brennan looked over at Angela, who shrugged, and then began to tell Booth her findings.

"There has to be something," Hodgins said coming up to Angela and Brennan as they sat in Brennan's office, "that he doesn't know."

"Of course there is," Angela said.

"We just haven't found it yet," Brennan finished. The three sat-- each thinking about how to stump the agent.

"What's up?" Booth asked walking in with a folder in his hand. "Whoa, a lot of thinking going on. I can smell the smoke."

"Okay," Hodgins began. "So there's a common English word that is nine letters…"

"Is this another riddle?" Booth asked, dropping the folder to Brennan's desk. "I'm beginning to hate myself for answering that first one." He turned to face the squints, leaning his butt against the desk and crossing his arms. "Okay, Hodgins. Shoot."

The scientist grinned and then continued. "Like I was saying, there's a common English word that is nine letters long. And each time you remove a letter from it, it still remains an English word. Got that? From nine letters right down to a single letter, it still remains an English word. What is the original word? And, to make it even harder, what are the words that it becomes after removing one letter at a time?" Hodgins held up his hand and received a high five from Angela.

"Nice one, Jack," the artist said with a smile. Booth tuned them out, his eyes staring off into space. He ran the riddle around his mind, quickly taking it apart. He knew that Brennan, Hodgins and Angela were watching him, trying to read his face.

"I think I finally got him," Hodgins said, after a few minutes of silence.

"Not so fast," Booth said, leveling his eyes to the three. "You start with startling," he told them. "Take away the 'l' you get starting. Drop the second 't' you get staring. Lose the 'a' you're left with string. Forget the 'r', and get sting. Minus the 't' and get sing. No 'g', you have sin. Bye-bye 's' leaves ya in. Cross out the 'n' and you have I. As in, I have to get going." He pushed himself away from the desk, threw them all a smile and then turned to leave.

"I have one," Zack said from the doorway.

Booth ran a hand through his hair. "Great," he said. "Just great."

Zack took that as his cue, and began to read from the paper he held, "General Gasslefield, accused of high treason, is sentenced to death by the court-martial. He is allowed to make a final statement, after which he will be shot if the statement is false or will be hung if the statement is true. Gasslefield makes his final statement and is released. What did he say?" The young doctor looked up and waited.

"This is getting out of hand, you all know that, right?" the agent complained.

"If you don't know, Booth," Angela began to tease.

"I didn't say I didn't know it," Booth defended. "All I'm saying is that we have work to do." He scrubbed his hands over his face before he answered, "He said 'I will be shot'."

"Why do you say that?" Brennan asked.

"Simple, if his statement was true, he would have been hung and thus not be shot. But then his statement would be false, which implies that he should be shot, making the statement true again. In other words-- the verdict of the court-martial could not be executed and the general was released. Good night and good luck." Booth walked out of the office, pushing by Zack.

"At noon," Brennan called out, rushing to her doorway. "And midnight the hour and minute hands are exactly coincident with each other. How many other times between noon and midnight do the hour and minute hands cross?"

Booth stopped and looked up at the ceiling. _Why me?_ he asked as the picture of a clock popped into his head. "If I answer, can I please leave?"

"Yes."

"Ten." With that, he left without another word.

"Really?" Brennan asked into the phone. She listened and nodded although the person on the other side couldn't see her. "Yes. Right, thank you Doctor Goodman." She hung up the phone with a smile.

"What was that about?" Angela asked from her position in the doorway.

"Let's just say Booth isn't the only riddle lover. Doctor Goodman gave me w good one. We'll trip Booth up yet."

"Why would you want to trip me?" the agent asked from behind Angela, making her jump.

"Don't do that," she chastised.

"Sorry," he said. "Now, back to tripping me."

"One last riddle," Brennan announced. "You get it right, no more riddles."

"And if I get it wrong?" he asked.

"We get to tease you about it," she told him with a smile. Booth closed his eyes briefly, but nodded.

"Great," Angela said. "Let me get Hodgins and Zack."

Once the group had assembled, Brennan asked the last riddle, "Think of words ending in 'gry'. Angry and hungry are two of them. There are only three words in the English language. What is the third word? The word is something that everyone uses every day. If you have listened carefully, I have already told you what it is." Booth narrowed his eye slightly in thought. Words ending in 'gry', he said to himself. He scratched behind his left ear and then drummed his fingers lightly across his chin. Three words? Umm.

"I can't wait to start teasing," Hodgins whispered to Angela, earning him a sharp jab in the ribs.

Time ticked away, and nobody said a word. Finally, Booth spoke the answer, "Language."

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_Begins with one word...ends with one word._

_Hope you all enjoyed!_


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